A subwoofer belt would make more sense, but try this bracelet

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/04/23/a-subwoofer-belt-would-make-mo.html

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Wrist huh…

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Why wouldn’t they just make the headphones vibrate?

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If it works, the exact mechanism isn’t important. But I’m not a basshead.

Because that becomes actual bass (and can cause hearing damage, btw). Vibrating headphones = sound; that’s how headphones work. Headphones like this also exist already, at 1st back in the '80s as a quick gimmick that went “pouf”, IIRC. Let me put it this way: Do YOU want your headphones to actually “buzz” on your head? It’s not like how a bone-conduction system works, either; we’re talking the entire chassis of the headphones =p .

I have serious reservations, however, on the efficacy of a watch. There’s just not enough mass there.

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Cool, I’ll wait for the belt

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I would think a necklace or lanyard where the bass device could sit against your sternum might be good too. Probably have to strap it down against your chest to get a solid connection otherwise it would probably just buzz annoyingly and probably tickle. So, yeah belt might be best. Or backpack model…

Makes me think of these http://bit.ly/2oj6Q8L

Just repurpose one of these:

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I arrived late to an outdoor Einstürzende Neubauten show (many years ago now) and had to stand about a foot from the PA, or felt that I did. It was kinda’ like this.

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Actual bass, the kind coming from a kick drum or bass guitar, sounds the way it does because a lot of air is being moved by a lot of mass. You cant get around that through trickery.

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At one time, there were vests marketed towards video game players that amounted to bass devices sitting against one’s torso, enabling one to “feel” more of the sound. Seems the idea is still kicking around.

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If you have good headphones, you can get close to how it sounds. What you won’t get is how it feels.

Think a sub-woofer in a dildo might fly? Or is that too base?

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I’m subwoofing right now.

At 35 g, it’s about the density of aluminum. They could go to 235 g (about a half pound) if they made it out of solid platinum … that might not sound as good, though.

Sounds like you need a bone fone!!

And? I don’t want my headphones to vibrate overly enthusiastically, thanks.

I got one when they were new through kickstarter. I can say that I like it, the extra bit of immersion really grows on ya.

Obviously there are some downsides: - One more thing to always keep charged,

  • one more thing to always carry around in a case (not included in kickstarter offer)
  • the dongle that connects to your headphone jack is indeed very dongle-y
  • There were two wrist straps included, long and short (good), but they are identical besides length. Won’t be for everyone; black rubber. Works, but not easy to put on tight.
    You can change out the strap for a regular (correct width) watch strap though.

When I first got it I didn’t like it because I had expected too much, and also because the basslet’s illusion of oomph! seems to work best the less you concentrate on it. Just plug it in and forget about it, then it really (IMO) adds to the experience.

For the price I paid (150 with shipping included I think) I would buy it again…probably.
7/10, would bang.

Then there was a slight whisper, a sudden spacious whisper of open ambient sound. Every hi-fi set in the world, every radio, every television, every cassette recorder, every woofer, every tweeter, every mid-range driver in the world quietly turned itself on.

Every tin can, every dustbin, every window, every car, every wineglass, every sheet of rusty metal became activated as an acoustically perfect sounding board.

Before the Earth passed away it was going to be treated to the very ultimate in sound reproduction, the greatest public address system ever built. But there was no concert, no music, no fanfare, just a simple message.

“People of Earth, your attention, please,” a voice said, and it was wonderful. Wonderful perfect quadrophonic sound with distortion levels so low as to make a brave man weep.

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